Misadventures
by btr2272
Summary: (Co-authored with MarauderFan4ever) Many Elflings often get into trouble. It's no different for the twins of Imaldris. Follow each and every one of Elrohir's crazy schemes and Elladan trying to talk him out of all of them.
1. Prologue The One With the Ball of String

"And then you tuck it under here…" Elrond demonstrated. "And you're done."

Elladan performed the task without difficulty. Elrohir, however, stuck the end of his rope under the wrong bit and managed to mess his attempt to make a knot up even more. Elrond was spending some quality time with his sons and teaching them the knots they would need later in life. Elladan had a face of stone, a look of grim determination on his face. If he made a mistake, he would quickly right it without any fuss. Elrohir, however, couldn't even make the simplest of knots and gave a growl of frustration with each mistake. The larger the mistake, the louder the growl. He was annoyed more than he'd ever been by this time, and his knot was a huge tangled ball of rope.

Elrond sensed his son's annoyance. "You must have patience, Elrohir. I did not get it on my first try."

Elrohir stared at his ball and then at Elladan's perfect knot. "I'm trying Ada. I'm trying to get it right. I'm trying to be patient, but…" He glanced back at his ball and then at Elladan's once more. "I can't get it."

"It's easy." Elladan reached over and began to untangle the ball. Elrohir glared at him. Why couldn't he ever get anything right the first time like Elladan? Elladan always did everything first. He got his play sword first, his small bow and arrow, (and even mastered them both easily where as Elrohir had to work for hours on end) and now that stupid knot! It shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did, but he couldn't help it.

"I don't need your help." Elrohir said rather forcefully and took his ball of rope back.

"But it's so easy. Let me he-" He reached for the ball again, but Elrohir held it tight to his chest.

"I don't need your help." Elrohir repeated, trying to control his temper. He had never been so angry in all of his short life. He had never been angry at all.

Elrond could see where this was going, and to be honest, he did not want to deal with it. He glanced at the sky. It was going to rain soon, and when it did it would most likely be a storm. They should probably go inside. But knowing, Elrohir he wouldn't want to go inside until he got it right. So he would have to create an excuse.

He picked up Elrohir and slung him over his shoulder. "Come along, Elrohir, it is time for your lessons."

Elladan followed his father and brother, smirking at Elrohir. Elrohir stuck his tongue out at him. His anger was slowly ebbing away, a calm overtaking him. He glanced at the ball, which he still held in his hands. Perhaps he should try to untangle it and then try again. He glanced at Elladan as a plan formed in his head. Oh yes, he could try again.

* * *

"You were mad at me today." Elladan said suddenly. Elrohir winced and burrowed deeper under his covers.

"Go to sleep, El." He muttered.

"Why were you mad at me?" Elladan sat up and looked at Elrohir's form. Elrohir gave a fake snore. Elladan threw his pillow at him. "I know you're awake!"

Elrohir didn't respond.

"Tell me why you were mad!" he persisted

"It doesn't matter." Elrohir muttered.

Elladan stared at the small lump that was his brother. 'But it does matter!' he wanted to say, but he didn't. _'I'll just talk to him tomorrow morning' _Elladan thought determinedly. _'I'll ask him what I did and then I'll apologize for it. Nana said that apologizing always works. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll say I'm sorry.'_

Elrohir lay very still before he could hear his brother breathing evenly, and then rolled over. He stared at the wall, willing sleep to come to him. It was difficult, for the rain Elrond had predicted had turned into a full blown storm and it was quite loud. And Elrohir did not like thunderstorms. But, he thought as he heard another crash, he would not run to his mother and father's room like a baby. If Elladan didn't have to then neither would he.

But as a streak of white went across the sky and the clouds emitted the loudest crash yet, Elrohir jumped up, scrambled out of the too big bed, and ran down the hall to his parent's room. Elladan stayed soundly asleep not hearing any of this.

He skidded to a stop in front of the door and quietly went in.

"_Nana_?" He called softly. "_Ada_?"

His father (who had been awake since the door had opened) slowly rose into an upright position and his mother woke also and rose onto her elbows.

"Elrohir? Is something the matter?" Elrond asked tiredly.

"Well-I-" Elrohir shuffled his feet. "The storm-it-it-well, it's quite loud, and-"

Celebrian smiled and drew aside the covers. "Alright, you may sleep with us tonight."

Elrohir sighed, relieved, and jumped into the bed and dove underneath the covers. He snuggled up to his parents. "Goodnight Ada, goodnight Nana."

"Goodnight Elrohir, may your dreams be peaceful." Elrond whispered, smoothing his son's hair.

* * *

Elladan watched his brother carefully. Elrohir was hunched over, the ball of knotted rope from yesterday in his hands. He was apparently searching for the end, so he could undo it. Elladan wanted to grab the ball out of his brother's hands and untie the knot himself. Elrohir was so slow at everything. The only thing he was better at than Elladan was reading. Elladan had patience for activities involving movement, but he had none when it came to books.

When Elladan had woken up this morning, he had discovered that his brother was not in the bed across the room. This had puzzled him, because he knew that his brother was afraid of the thunder and usually when he was scared, he either woke Elladan up and then went back to sleep or woke up Elladan and dragged him into their parents room with him. But Elrohir hadn't been there when he had woken up and when he had found out that Elrohir had run to his parents without even waking him up, he had felt hurt. But now, he decided, was a good time to ask about what he'd done wrong yesterday. So he could fix everything.

"Why were you mad?"

Elrohir's head shot up. "What?"

"Why were you mad yesterday?" Elladen asked. "I want to know so I can apologize."

"It wasn't anything you could control." Elrohir snapped. He curled back up, turning the ball over and over.

"I don't like it when you get mad, El." Elladen said quietly. "I don't like it at all."

Elrohir bit his lip. If he listened to his brother-his sweet, kind, and caring, innocent, _perfect_ brother-for any longer, he was going to burst. He dropped the ball from his hands. It bounced on the floor and rolled over to Elladen. "Go away, Elladen."

Elladen picked up the ball and stared wide-eyed at his twin. "What?"

"Go away." Elrohir repeated. Before Elladen could move, Elrohir got up out of his chair and walked out of the room. He needed to get away. His brother was so much better. He was everyone's favorite. It was always the same with visitors. "Elladen, you're getting so big! You're going to be a great Elf someday…Oh, Elrohir. I didn't see you. You look taller."

He was his brother's shadow. Elrohir sniffled. Why couldn't he be the one everybody loved? Why did he have to go unnoticed? He was about to start crying when he heard his parent's talking inside his father's study. Though he knew he shouldn't, he pressed his ear to the door.

"Everyone is afraid of thunderstorms when they are young, Elrond." That was his mother.

"Yes, but Elladen outgrew his fear years ago." And that was his father.

"We are not talking about Elladen, we are talking about Elrohir." Celebrian said gently.

"He is too old to be afraid of thunderstorms."

"He is nine years old, Elrond!" Celebrian said a little too harshly.

"I know how old my son is." Elrond said rather loudly.

"It doesn't mean something is wrong with him because he is scared of thunder."

"I never said there was anything wrong with him!" He cried defensively.

"Then why are you saying he is too old?"

"Because he is! Elladen-"

Celebrian sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, we know Elladen stopped being afraid. We know Elrohir has not. Why does that matter so much to you?"

"Elrohir is so far behind Elladen. Do not tell me you cannot see it. He could not tie knots yesterday, Celebrian! Should that not worry you?"

"I am not worried about him. Your children do not all have to be prodigies."

There was a slam. "I said nothing about prodigies!"

"You do not see Elrohir as a person, Elrond! You see him as a shadow-Elladen's shadow. A shadow that needs to be as good as the real thing! Have you seen his tutor's reports? He thrives when he is surrounded by knowledge! There is nothing wrong with our son if he does not like physical activities."

There was silence. Elrohir wanted to cry even more. Did his father love him less as well? His mother seemed to be the only one who cared about him. Elrohir started to cry. He tried to be quiet, but soon he was sobbing loudly. The door to his father's study opened.

"What-" Elrond froze. "Elrohir."

"I'm sorry I can't be Elladan!" Elrohir managed between sobs, before turning and running away.

"Elrohir!" his father called after him.

It didn't matter. He was gone.

* * *

Elrohir wiped his eyes. He was high in the tree in the courtyard. He liked being up here. He could see the people beneath him walking around, and all the while they couldn't see him. It was like he was spying on everyone. It was fun. And it was something that Elladan couldn't do very well. Be quiet.

It surprised Elrohir when he saw his brother walk on the path beneath him and sit down next to the very tree he was hiding in. He was holding what clearly was Elrohir's sorry excuse for a knot, and then (to Elrohir's surprise) he easily untangled it and stared at it.

"I don't get it." He muttered quietly, and even with his natural Elven hearing Elrohir could barely hear him. "It's just a stupid knot. Why was Ro' so upset?"

Elrohir couldn't help but feel a little guilty for that one. It was clear that Elladan was sorry. But the only problem was that he didn't know what he was sorry for, and that was what bothered him.

He was hoping that Elladan would get up and walk away, but he didn't. He just sat there. He had been sitting there for at least 15 minutes (while Elrohir's legs began to cramp up) when it seemed that the warmth from the sunshine got to him and he slowly fell asleep.

This was a good thing, for now if Elrohir climbed down the tree quietly he could 'escape' without being noticed.

But now that Elrohir was safely on the ground, he didn't want to disappear, he wanted to grab that stupid rope and tie that knot. So he carefully grabbed the rope and tied a simple knot. And then another, and then another, and another. Until finally he decided to tie the knot they had been learning yesterday and…he did it. He didn't understand how he was now so easily able to tie it, but he did.

Elrohir looked at the knot, and then at Elladan, slowly remembering the plan that he had thought of yesterday. And now that he thought about it, this was a perfect time to put it in action…

* * *

Elrond had searched for his youngest son for about an hour, but could not find him. And although she had not said anything, he knew that Celebrian was mad at him. As much as he wanted to keep looking for him, he couldn't because as Lord of Imladris, there were things he had to attend to, and though his family always came first, he had a feeling that Elrohir needed some space

The only sound that could be heard in Elrond's study were the birds outside chirping as they usually did after a big storm, until a small Elfling screamed at the top of his lungs, "_ADA!_"

Elrond tore out of the study, worry piercing his heart, immediately thinking that something horrible had happened to one of his sons.

* * *

As Elrond neared the spot where the cry had come from, he found that neither of his sons were in danger. In fact, one of them was tied to a tree, trying to unsuccessfully untie himself and the other was standing next to him grinning broadly.

"See Ada, I can tie my knots!" Elrohir cried.

Elrond sighed in relief and dropped to his haunches and pulled Elrohir into a hug. After he let go he said,

"Elrohir, I owe you an apology." Elrond looked at both of them. "Actually I owe both of you an apology."

"What for?" Elladan asked forgetting his struggle against the ropes.

"Well," Elrond said carefully, sitting down and patting the ground next to him for Elrohir to sit down on. "Lately it seems I've been thinking of you two as one person who should be able to do everything the same way, at the same time, and at the same pace."

"Like with the knots?" Elrohir asked, staring at his hands.

Elrond nodded. "That's right. I got worried, I think Elrohir that you weren't doing as well as your brother. And it took a little wake up call from you for me to realize that it doesn't matter. You both are two totally different people, and I respect that greatly."

Elrohir smile and threw his arms around his father. "But I can tie my knots now, Ada!"

Elrond laughed. "I can see that. And I'm very proud of you, but I think," He lowered his voice to a whisper, "that we have to untie your brother."

Elrohir nodded solemnly. "I think so too."

"Yes, can you please untie me now?" Elladan pleaded.

Elrohir giggled and climbed out of his father's lap. He quickly untied the knots. Elladan shook the ropes off, but before he could do anything else, he was locked in a Death Hug from Elrohir.

"I'm sorry for being mad." Elrohir said.

"I'm sorry for making you mad, though I'm still not sure how." Elladan hugged his brother back.

Elrond smiled at his sons. Yes, they were completely different people, and he had been a fool not to see it. "Come along boys, let's go get a treat from the kitchen."

They squealed with excitement as he picked them both up and carried them inside. Life was back to normal. Or so they thought.

* * *

Changes began to take place in Elrond's household. Mostly, it was Elrohir who was changing. He wasn't afraid of thunderstorms anymore. And he liked to play tricks on people. Though he was not much of a fighter, he had a way of making people laugh. He also had a way of coming up with crazy schemes and dragging his brother into them. And so began the start of the misadventures.

* * *

Hello little people. Or not so little people depending on what you look like. This would be Liz, who is the co-authoress of this new story.

So here's the dealio. We thought it would be fun if we wrote a fic that was a bunch of stories that made the twins the fun loving peeps that we all know and love today. I know, I've read a lot of these kind of fics before and this first chapter seemed kind of angsty, but if you've read any of CB's fics over here, then you'll know it'll be loads of laughs…so…here's a word from CB.

Aw, I get an intro! Thanks Liz. So, this is a just a prologue to the main storyline…not that there is a storyline. But this just shows how Elrohir became a prankster and sets the stage for all the crazy things they did while they were little Elflings. So that's the gist of it.

Private Lizzie and CB signing out (salutes)


	2. The One With the Scarves

CB here. All I can say is, thanks SO much to Cierah. This chapter would still be rotting in Lizzie's computer if not for her. So…thanks. A lot. And I'm sorry there are no line breaks, QuickEdit is being weird. Really big spaces like the one after this author's note are where line breaks are supposed to be. Okay? Okay.

The only thing heard in the library of Elrond's home was the scratching of a pen and the turning of pages. The twins sat across from each other at a large table, Elladan was hurriedly finishing homework he had neglected to do the night before, while Elrohir was deeply absorbed in a book.

Scratch scratch.

Flip.

Elrohir glanced at Elladan's work. He was finishing a mathematics worksheet. In his haste, he had made a mistake that threw off his whole problem. Elrohir tapped the edge of the paper. "You made a mistake."

Elladan looked at the problem. "'I did?"

"When you're dividing and you have numbers left over, you add a decimal and put zero behind it." Elrohir explained.

Elladan blinked. "Oh." He corrected the mistake. Elrohir went back to his book.

Scratch scratch.

Flip.

There was a creak as the door opened. Both boys looked up. Their mother stood in the doorway.

"There you two are! Were you not informed that your lessons were cancelled today? Your tutor is away." She told them.

"Yes!" Elladan leaped up. He stuffed his homework into his folder as Elrohir carefully put the book back on the shelf.

"Also, your father has given the both of you permission to do whatever you want for the rest of the day." Their mother continued.

Elrohir glanced out the window. A plan began to develop in his mind. He quickly, followed his brother out of the library. When their mother was out of earshot, he grabbed Elladan arm. "Let's explore the city!"

"_Ada_ told us not to though." Elladan reminded him. "He said we would get lost, especially in the residents part."

The truth was that they had always lived in the part with the lords and ladies and their parents. So they had never really ventured out in to the rest of the city, and therefore got lost easily.

"No we won't! Besides we have good memories."

"We're going to get lost."

"No we're not! Come on, it'll be fun." Elrohir persisted.

Elladan sighed. "I'm going to regret this."

Elrohir ignored this comment and grabbed his brother's arm. "Come on, let's go!"

The first thing that Elladan noticed was that there were always lots more people walking around. The halls where he and Elrohir lived were always very quiet and empty. But here there were more people. Walking home, to their jobs, everywhere!

Several of them recognized the two younglings and nodded to them. Elladan nodded back, but Elrohir seemed to be lost in his own world and didn't notice. He also didn't notice that he was about to walk into a peddler's cart. Elladan pulled him out of the way before his brother and the cart collided.

Elrohir blinked and looked around. "What just happened?"

"You were about to run into me cart, young sir." The peddler came out from behind his cart. He was a strange looking Elf, dressed in bright colors instead of natural ones. His hair was stuffed up under a cap. He wore a strange form of wire and glass on his face. The twins had never seen anyone like him.

"Oh. Sorry." Elrohir stared curiously at him.

The peddler chuckled. "S'alright, no harm done."

Elladan examined the cart. "What do you sell?"

The peddler reached inside his cart and pulled out a red scarf. "Color." He handed the scarf to Elrohir.

Elrohir looked at the scarf. Red was only used at festival; it was not worn everyday. Only Elves that performed enjoyed bright colors, it made them stand out and be noticed. Normal Elves like natural colors, such as dark green, brown, gray, dark blue, and sometimes white. "How can you sell color?"

"Well, not color really. Colorful clothes. I like to brighten up these cities." The peddler shrugged and took the scarf back. "Red, orange, yellow, bright green, bright blue and purple. Occasionally pink."

Elladan nodded. "That sounds…interesting."

"May we walk with you?" Elrohir interrupted.

Elladan opened his mouth to say no, but the peddler beat him to it.

"I don't think, Master Elf, that yer father would want ye to walk with someone ye don't know. So maybe some other time." And before either of the twins could respond, he walked away.

"You scared him away!" Elrohir said stubbornly, pouting a little.

"Me? What did I do? You were the one who-"

"I wonder," Elrohir cut in thoughtfully, "Why he called us 'Master Elf'?"

"Because we're Elves?" Elladan supplied.

"Yes, but so is everyone else around here. What would make us so different?"

"Because you are two sneaky Elflings who do not listen to your _Ada_." A familiar voice said from behind them.

They turned around, thinking it was their father, but were surprised to find Glorfindel instead.

"Glorfindel!" they cried, relieved.

"And what are the two of you doing?" he asked, pulling them off to the side.

"Exploring!" Elrohir said eagerly before Elladan could stop him.

"I think I remember something about a certain father telling his two sons that they should not wander about the residents part by themselves." Glorfindel said pointedly.

"Aw, Glorfindel, you're not going to tell on us are you?" Elrohir put his most innocent-looking expression. Elladan snorted. He knew for a fact that when his brother did that it meant he was either trying to get out of some punishment or he wanted something. And Elladan also knew that "the look" always worked.

Glorfindel studied them both for a minute, knowing that who he was talking to _was _Elrohir. (Not many could tell the two apart, and sometimes even their parents couldn't.) He knew what "the look" was and how it worked. Usually it didn't work on him (though Elrond and Celebrian _always_ fell for it), but he decided to indulge them today.

He sighed. "All right, fine. I have to get a few things first before we go back, all right?"

Two heads nodded.

"Stick close so we do not get separated." He looked at each of them in turn. "And no sneaking off, understood?"

"Yes, Glorfindel." They said in unison.

"Good." He nodded, satisfied. "Let us go."

So the three of them headed out into the throng of people, the twins keeping close to Glorfindel.

They stopped at a few shops, at all, of which Glorfindel talked to the owners for at least ten minutes. _Perhaps,_ Elladan thought, _this is his way of punishing us._

After leaving a shop where an unusually lengthy conversation had taken place, it was finally time to go home.

But Glorfindel had somehow gotten far ahead of them and, as much as the two small Elflings tried to keep up, they couldn't. So they decided to try and figure out where he had gone, and in doing so, got themselves decisively lost.

Deciding that it was better to at least _try_ to find their way back then just sit and do nothing, they wandered the city. At one point, Elrohir started singing.

"Ninety-nine bottles of wine on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of wine. You take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of wine on the wall. Ninety-"

"Do you think they're looking for us?" Elladan asked.

"-Eight bottles of wine-"

"I mean, it's nearly dinner time-" Elladan sounded a bit worried.

"-You take one down-"

"They wouldn't forget about us, -"

"-Pass it around-"

"-Would they?"

Elrohir stopped. "My feet hurt." He said suddenly. "Can we sit down?"

So the two of them sat down in a corner, hugging and huddled together, trying to stay warm in the night's chill.

"Elrond?"

He glanced up from his work to see his wife standing in the doorway. "Yes?"

"It is nearly dinner time." She pointed out.

"Yes."

"And it is getting quiet dark out…"

"Yes…" he had the feeling she didn't want to tell him what came next.

"And…" she took a deep breath. "And the twins are missing."

"They are WHAT!" Elrond jumped from his desk, papers fluttering to the floor.

"I have not seen them since I told them their lessons were cancelled. I have looked everywhere; I cannot find them. They are gone." Celebrian choked on these last words, her eyes filled with tears.

There was the sudden sound of someone running towards Elrond's study. Celebrian stepped into the study and out of the path of Glorfindel, who raced past the study, realized he had past it, and ran to the doorway. He leaned in it, panting. "The twins…they are…"

"Missing." Celebrian and Elrond said in unison.

"In…the residents…district…" Glorfindel finished, nodding.

"The residents district?" Celebrian cried. "At night? With the cold?" Celebrian herself could not feel the cold, but knew her sons and husband could, being _peredhil_. The twins had had a problem with the cold before, and they had gotten sick. It had been very frightening, and Celebrian had been reminded that her sons were different from her. And that difference could . "We have to find them."

"I will organize a search party immediately, my Lord." Glorfindel hastily bowed and sprinted out of the study.

"We will find them." Elrond said, coming over to his wife and putting his arm around her. She clung tightly to him, sobbing. "We have to."

Elrohir was singing again. Elladan knew that this was not good. Elrohir only sang this stupid, nonsense song when he was nervous, or worried. And both of them were extremely worried that they would have to spend the entire night out here, alone, in the streets. It also disturbed Elladan's efforts to sleep. He knew falling asleep was not the brightest idea in the world, but he was so, so tired…

"Eighty-one bottles of wine on the wall, eighty-one bottles of wine…" Elrohir was shaking.

Elladan also felt the chill. The sun had sunk into the earth. The streets were empty; all the Elves walking upon them had gone home to their dinners. Everyone of course, except the twins. He looked up at the sky, suddenly aware of the black clouds. Soon it would rain.

"Take one down, pass it around, eighty bottles of wine on the wall…" Elrohir glanced to the left, and then did a double take. "I remember that street!"

Elladan followed his brother's gaze. There was a street turning right a few yards away from where they sat. Elladan vaguely remembered turning onto the street they were on, but he didn't know if that had been the one they had taken. However, walking would keep them warm, and if it made Elrohir stop singing, then he was all for taking that street. "Well, then, let's go."

Elrohir leaped to his feet. Elladan got up slower, still tired. They headed towards the street and began walking down it. Elladan could barely keep his eyes open. He let his eyes close as he walked, following the sound of Elrohir's footsteps.

They walked for what seemed like hours. It was really only about a half-hour, but in Elladan's half-conscious state, time had no measurement. It was simply taking them too long. The chill had become worse, and the clouds above were about to burst. Sure enough, Elladan felt a raindrop on his nose. Then there was another on his shoulder, and another on his hair. Soon it was pouring.

Elrohir said something, but Elladan was so far out of it, he didn't understand. All he knew was that he was cold, wet, and desperately wanted to sleep. He could not fight it any longer. He stopped walking and was enveloped in well-welcomed sleep.

"Elladan? Did you hear me? I said we should find someplace dry!" Elrohir had to shout to be heard over the rain. "Elladan?"

He turned. Elladan lay in the middle of the street behind him, on his side. "Elladan!" He exclaimed, racing to his brother's side. He couldn't tell what was wrong. He felt his brother's hand and was startled by how cold it was.

Was Elladan sick? They had gotten sick before, and had spent three days drifting in and out of consciousness. Elladan had been worse then he. Elrohir knew that should either of them get sick again, it could be worse. He pulled his twin into his arms and held him close, trying to keep him warm. He looked up at the sky, blinking rain out of his eyes.

This was his fault. If he hadn't insisted that they go exploring, they wouldn't be here. He began to cry, for his brother and for himself.

He couldn't stop the scream from tearing out of his throat. "Help!" he cried. "Please, help!"

His cries echoed off of the stonewalls. "Help…" he sobbed, rocking back and forth.

"Eighty bottles of wine on the wall, eighty bottles of wine…"

At seventy-two bottles of wine, Elrohir became aware of a creaking sound. There was creaking, the sound of wood on the cobblestone street. And footsteps! Someone was coming!

Indeed, a figure began to appear in the rain. After a moment, Elrohir realized it was the peddler. The peddler stopped beside him and looked down at him. "So, Master Elf, we meet again. But it seems there is something wrong with yer double."

"He just collapsed." Elrohir tried to stop crying. _Crying will not solve anything_ he remembered his mother telling him once. Trust him to remember some important advice _after_ it happened.

The peddler knelt down next to him and peered at Elladan's face. "Well, I'm no healer, but it seems to me that yer brother's asleep."

Elrohir gaped at the peddler, than at Elladan's body. Indeed, he realized now that Elladan was in a deep sleep. He felt incredibly stupid.

The peddler picked Elladan up. "Still, ye two should definitely be home right now, especially in this weather. Would ye like an escort, Master Elf?" Elrohir nodded. "Good. Push me cart for me. I believe yer home is this way." They started walking.

It was a long time later that they heard footsteps. They had been walking for a good hour (the twins had gotten spectacularly lost) and Elrohir was also beginning to feel tired as he pushed the heavy cart. The peddler walked beside him, Elladan limp in his arms.

The footsteps grew louder, and there were a few shouts. The figures sharpened, and Elrohir could see it was a group of Elves, his father and Glorfindel at the head.

"_Ada!_" Elrohir cried, racing out from behind the cart and into his father's arms.

"Elrohir!" Elrond knelt and hugged his son tightly. "We were so worried about you!"

"I'm sorry, _Ada_. This was all my fault." Elrohir sniffled, about to cry again.

"Where is Elladan?" Glorfindel said, somewhere near by.

"Here." He heard the peddler reply. "He fell asleep."

Elrond stood, holding Elrohir. "How can I thank you, good Man?"

Man? Elrohir looked at the peddler. He had removed his hat, which had previously covered his ears. Elrohir now saw the peddler had round ears, not pointed. He's not an Elf!

The Man reached into his pocket and pulled out two scarves, one red, and one bright blue. "No need for thanks." He held the scarves out to Elrond. "Glad to help the younglings. These are for them."

Elrond took the scarves. "Thank you again." He started to walk away, Elrohir still in his arms. Glorfindel carried Elladan. The last thing Elrohir heard before sleep also claimed him was the wheels of the cart rolling away.

After sleeping by the fireside and a hot cup of tea, both twins were fine. Elladan had a runny nose for about a week, but that was the only side effect of their adventure. As for the scarves, Elrohir wore his, the red one, on his arm every day until he was fifteen. After that, the scarf had a permanent place on his arrow-holder. Elladan, however, put on his scarf whenever he was about to be dragged into one of Elrohir's crazy schemes, which was almost every day. At all other times, the scarf was tied around his bedpost, and is still there to this day.


	3. The One With Those Famous Novels

"He would say simply, 'Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.'…" Celebrian read.

Elrohir clutched his pillow tighter to his chest. He glanced over at his brother, who was just as absorbed as he was. For the past few weeks, their mother had been reading them a story before they went to bed. 'The Princess Bride', it was called, and it was such a good story. Both of the boys loved it, and they weren't even halfway through yet. Elrond occasionally came in and listened to the story as well, because it had been read to him when he was little. Tonight, Inigo was going to kill the man in black in a duel, provided the man in black ever climbed up the Cliffs of Insanity.

"Inigo paced the cliff edge, fingers snapping. Fifty feet below him now, the man in black still climbed."

"_Nana_, can you just skip to where the man in black gets up?" Elladan interrupted.

"Patience, Elladan. He will get up soon enough." Elrond ruffled Elladan's hair, laughing.

"But I want to hear about the fight!" Elladan pouted.

"And you will, once he climbs up." Celebrian told him before she continued reading.

Elladan squirmed with impatience. He looked over at Elrohir, who was simply staring at their mother with huge eyes, taking in every word. And Elladan soon fell into that same state, completely enraptured as Inigo tossed the rope down to the man in black and helped him up. Celebrian glanced at the clock, watching the time. She had come to a good spot to stop.

" 'You seem a decent fellow.' Inigo said. 'I hate to kill you.' 'You seem a decent fellow.' answered the man in black. 'I hate to die.' 'But one of us must.' Inigo said. 'Begin.', and so saying he took the six-fingered sword and put it into his left hand." Celebrian finished, closing the book.

"No!" the twins cried.

"No, _Nana_, the fight was about to start!" Elladan protested.

"You'll hear about it tomorrow. Now, you sleep." Elrond told him, tucking him into his bed.

"_Nana_, does the man in black die?" Elrohir asked.

She chuckled, drawing his blankets around him. "You'll see." She kissed them on their foreheads, then she and Elrond blew out the lamps and closed the door. "Good night, boys."

"Good night." They chorused, though Elladan was rather sulky.

There was silence in their room for a moment. Then, Elladan turned over to look at Elrohir. "Who do you think wins?"

"The man in black." Elrohir stated simply.

"What? Why?"

"Because," Elrohir rolled his eyes "The good guys _always_ win."

"Inigo's the good guy!" Elladan exclaimed, sitting straight up in bed.

"No, he's not." Elrohir told him, also sitting up. "Think about it. Inigo, Fezzik and the Sicilian kidnapped Buttercup. How can they be good guys?"

Elladan furrowed his brow in thought. This was true. The good guys never kidnapped people. They always rescued them. But…Inigo's dad had died, and he was only trying to avenge his death. Bad guys didn't do that, bad guys didn't care about who died. And he had said that he didn't want to kill the man in black, because he had seemed like a nice guy. And he had helped the man in black up, and let him rest. A bad guy would have just killed him before he got a chance to fight back.

So how could Inigo be a bad guy?

"Well, how do you know the man in black is a good guy?" Elladan asked.

"Because he's coming to rescue Buttercup." Elrohir stretched, yawning. "Why else would he be following them?"

"But…" Elladan frowned. "Inigo _can't_ be a bad guy. He just can't be."

Elrohir drummed his fingers against his thigh for a moment. "Well…Inigo is only helping the Sicilian because he needs money. So…maybe the Sicilian is only the bad guy, and Inigo and Fezzik are just helping him because they have no other choice."

Elladan nodded. He was happy with that assumption. "But…then how do we know which one wins?"

Elrohir opened his mouth, then closed it. He didn't appear to have an answer to that one. "I don't know." He said, apparently struck by the fact that his logic couldn't find a solution to the posed question.

He slid back under his covers and rolled away from Elladan. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Elladan stared at his brother's form under the covers. "But I want to know now!"

"Go to sleep, El." His twin said loudly.

Elladan tried. He lay down and stared at the ceiling. He rolled this way, then that. But try as he might, he couldn't calm his mind. He desperately wanted to know who won, because whoever won would have to be the real good guy, and they would be the hero of the story. He was also upset, again (though he never told anyone), that Westley had died. How could the author have introduced this character, have he and Buttercup fall in love, and then promptly kill him off? And worse yet, have Buttercup become engaged to Prince Humperdink? It seemed to Elladan that none of any of the bad things that happened would have occurred if Westley had never left.

Elladan stopped himself. He was debating against his brother, against _himself_ over a book? A bunch of pieces of paper held together with string and other things. This was silly. He didn't enjoy reading the way Elrohir did. Elrohir was the one who usually argued with their parents for hours about the outcome of the stories. He would just go to sleep, and not think any more about how the book ended.

But even as he drifted off to sleep he couldn't help but think, that in all the other books, there had been a clear villain and hero. There had been a distinct line separating good from evil. But in this book, that line was blurred, and he wasn't sure who was who.

But he definitely didn't like Prince Humperdink.

* * *

"But I want to be Inigo!"

"I called it first!"

"No I did!"

"No I did!"

It seemed that the conversation from the night before had caused the two elflings to become admiring of Inigo Montoya. So when the two went to go play an old fashioned game of good-versus-evil, the characters of the man in black and Inigo came up. And then the argument began.

"I did!"

"I did!"

"Boys!"

The two turned their heads to see Glorfindel coming towards them. "What's going on? Why are you two arguing so loudly?" He rubbed his eyes. "And so early in the morning."

"I want to be Inigo!" Elladan cried. "And Elrohir says he called him first this morning while we were getting dressed, but I did."

"That's not true!" Elrohir protested. "Glorfindel, I called Inigo first this morning!'

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did-"

"Boys!"

Glorfindel raised his hand to silence them. "I was not there while you were getting dressed this morning-" Elrohir stifled a giggle. "-so I cannot tell you who 'called' it first." He took out a coin from his pocket. "I will flip this coin, and whoever calls the side it lands on, gets to be Inigo. No rematches, alright?"

Two dark heads nodded.

Glorfindel tossed the coin in the air and Elrohir called it. It landed on the opposite side, so Elladan was able to be Inigo. Elrohir accepted this, muttering something about liking the man in black more anyway.

Glorfindel left the two to their game, and the boys drew their wooden swords from their belts.

"You seem a decent fellow." Elladan quoted, inwardly surprised at remembering the line. "I hate to kill you."

"You seem a decent fellow." Elrohir grinned, "I hate to die."

They stared at each other. "Well?" Elrohir prompted his brother. "What comes next?"

"I don't remember!" Elladan cried, exasperated.

"Well I don't either!"

They stared at each other once more. "Whatever, let's fight!" Elladan exclaimed, lunging at his brother.

"We can't start yet!" Elrohir blocked his brother's attack. "You have to say the right line!"

"But we don't know the line!" Elladan was getting frustrated. He just wanted to fight so he could prove to himself that Inigo was the _real_ good guy. He knew if they fought, he would beat his brother, which meant that Inigo had beaten the man in black. Even if that was not how it happened in the book, it would satisfy Elladan until tonight, when his mother read to them.

Elrohir thought a moment. "I know!" He exclaimed. "We could go into _Ada_ and _Nana_'s room, get the book, and find out the line!"

Elladan paused. "Alright."

They stuck their swords back into their belts then scampered off, but not before Elladan had grabbed the blue scarf from his bedpost and tied it around his forehead. They ran to their parents' room, cautiously pushing open the door before hurrying over to the bookshelf in a corner of the room.

Elladan stamped his foot angrily, unable to control his frustration. All the books there looked exactly the same, with red leather covers and no words on the spine. They would have to pull apart the bookshelf to find the one they wanted.

Elrohir surveyed the situation. "Well," he finally said, "We'll just have to start from the top and work our way down." He pulled the first book off the shelf and opened it. " 'How to Be the Lord of an Elven City for Dummies'."

Elladan gave his brother a strange look. Elrohir shrugged, replaced the book, and pulled off another one. " 'Tales from King Arthur's Court'."

Elladan began picking books out at random and putting them back. " 'The History of Middle Earth'. 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'. 'The Iliad'. 'The Odyssey'." He looked over at his brother. "Ada reads boring books, Ro."

But Elrohir was flipping through the book he had picked up. Elladan, frustrated that they hadn't found the book and couldn't figure out who the real good guy was, pulled the book out of his twin's hands and shoved it back onto the shelf.

"Hey!" Elrohir cried.

"It was your idea to look for the book!" Elladan shouted. "So look!"

Elrohir stuck his tongue out at his brother and picked another book off the shelf. " '69 of the Most Pleasurable Positions Known to Middle Earth'."

The boys stared at each other, then back at the book, then back at each other.

Elrohir hurriedly put the book back. "I don't want to know."

After much searching, they came to an unhappy conclusion: the book was not in their parent's room.

"Where else would it be?" Elladan asked, his brow furrowed in a way that made him look a lot like his father.

"The library!" They both cried in unison and ran off in the direction of the famed Library of Imladris, unaware that a pair of chuckling brown eyes followed them.

* * *

"This isn't going to work." Elladan said, surveying the large library. "There are too many. And most of them are above out heads." He turned to look at Elrohir, only to find that Elrohir was not next to him anymore. "Elrohir?"

Elladan walked past a few bookshelves to find that Elrohir was talking to Erestor, asking where the book they wanted would be. Erestor waved his hand in a direction and Elrohir immediately began walking off. Elladan followed him quickly, thanking Erestor as he went by.

"He said it's on this bookshelf." Elrohir said confidently, once Elladan had caught up with him. "But I don't know where."

"I guess we'll have to start at the top then." Elladan replied, looking up at the highest shelf.

"But how? Unless you haven't noticed El, we're kind of short."

"We'll use the ladder!" Elladan said excitedly, pointing at the rolling ladder that stood about two feet away.

"I call it!" Elrohir cried, leaping onto the ladder and promptly rolling sideways to where the first book sat.

Elladan watched as his brother pulled book after book off the shelf, opened them, and then put them back. He got bored with his brother's inability to find the book they wanted, especially after the fifth time Elrohir started leafing through one of the ones he'd pulled off the shelf. Elladan, knowing his brother would find it eventually, wandered off. He ran his fingers along the spines of the books, wondering what fascinated his parents and brother so.

"It's just paper and words." He whispered. "What makes them so important?"

He pulled a random book from the shelf, determined to find out what books had that made his brother so spellbound. He opened it up and read the title aloud. " 'Wicked: The Life And Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'." He nearly shut the book. He didn't want to read about a bad guy. Or, bad girl, in this case. But he had decided to read a book, and he had picked this one up. So he turned to the first page and began reading.

He was very confused from the start. First there was a prologue, which had three people talking about this Witch, who, from what he could understand, was listening to their conversation. She wanted a pair of silver shoes that a girl had. And then it switched to something else, this couple talking. The woman was pregnant, and was expecting her child very soon. The man had to go away and save people's souls, or something. He didn't understand any of it, and that frustrated him.

"Elladan?"

He looked up. His father was walking over to him. "Hi, _Ada_." Elladan said, yawning.

"What've you got there?" Elrond asked, sitting down next to his son.

"Some book. I wanted to know what Elrohir likes about them, but this one is too confusing." Elladan frowned.

Elrond took the book from his son and looked at it. "Ah, Wicked. Yes, this book is confusing. There are lots of politics involved. But what I like about this book is how it shows how people aren't born evil."

Elladan blinked up at him. "You mean, the bad guys weren't always bad guys?"

Elrond chuckled. "No. Take the girl in this book for example." He opened the book to the title page, where there was a detailed drawing of the Witch. "She had a hard life. She was born with green skin, and because of that, people feared her. Her parents didn't particularly like her. Throughout the book, she does things to try and help people, but they all go wrong. In the eyes of the people who don't know or understand, everything she does is wicked. People thought her evil, and so she became what they thought. Of course, her actions made her that way, but was it ever her intention to be wicked? Certainly not. Everything she did, up to a point, she did for good." He looked down at his son. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Elladan?"

Elladan was still trying to absorb the fact that bad guys…weren't really bad guys. That bad guys had feelings, too. That they had reasons, logical perhaps only to them, to do the things they did. Bad guys were only bad guys because they were portrayed that way, when to them, _they_ were the good guys, and the real good guys were actually the bad ones. The line between good and evil all depended on a person's point of veiw.

"There's a gray area." Elladan said, mostly to himself.

"That's right, my son. Things aren't always black and white, sometimes people can be both good and evil." Elrond put his arm around his son's shoulders and hugged him close. "That's an important lesson to learn, Elladan. Keep it in mind as you grow older."

"I will, _Ada_." Elladan replied. "I will."

"I found it!"

The father and son looked up. Elrohir was running towards them, book in hand. "Now we can find the line!"

Elrond smiled a slightly mischievous smile. "Elrohir, let me see the book."

His son clutched it to his chest, afraid that after all his hard work, he might have to give it up. "Why?"

"Well, I thought that since the three of us were all here, and we have the book, we might as well read ahead a little."

The twins cheered and settled down on either side of their father, eager to hear about the fight. Elrond opened the book to the marked page, cleared his throat, and began to read. "He had begun all his duels left-handed lately. It was good practice for him…"

_CB here. We are sooooooooooooooo sorry we haven't updated in eons, we've been busy and writer's blocked and a thousand other excuses. We tried to make this chapter long to make up for it._

_We hope you don't mind the insertion of The Princess Bride, Wicked, or any of the other books mentioned on the twins' book hunt (we did make up one or two books, of course. The 'For Dummies' book is a running joke in our stories). Princess Bride seemed like just the story to be read to little elflings, it IS of course, 'the classic tale of true love and high adventure'. And Liz and I wanted Elladan to learn about how bad guys aren't always bad, and Wicked seemed like the perfect way to do it. It was either that or how Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader, and somehow I'm betting Star Wars wouldn't have been a Middle Earth sort of book._

_Oh, and we don't own any of the books mentioned, they belong to William Goldman, Gregory Maguire, Shakespeare, and Homer, respectively._


End file.
